Who are we?

Wheelchair Rugby Australia (WRA) is the governing body for the development and growth of the sport of wheelchair rugby in Australia. WRA is dedicated to providing athletes with a disability the opportunity to participate and excel in wheelchair rugby from grassroots to international competition.

While the sport was introduced to Australia in the 1980’s, WRA was officially formed as an independent organisation in August 2022.

Wheelchair Rugby Australia Ltd is a registered charity and not-for-profit recognised by The Australian Charities & Not-for-Profits Commission and is a recognised National Sporting Organisation by the Australian Sports Commission.

Want to learn more about Wheelchair Rugby Australia and why we do what we do? Check out the video below!

Steve has worked in sport for over 30 years. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Care Corporation, an Australian-owned and run nutrition and wellness company.  Steve was the CEO of Sport NSW, has provided sport and major event-related consultancy in Australia and overseas, and is a Visiting Fellow with the World Academy of Sport, facilitating and lecturing in courses to sporting federations and governments.

Steve is currently a Non-Executive Director of World Wheelchair Rugby and an Executive Board Member of the Association of Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO). He is a recipient of the Australian Sports Medal and has served on the Boards of Paralympics Australia, Snow Australia and Rowing Australia.

Lisa is a respected, award-winning marketing executive with over 25 years of experience across multiple Australian and international brands. She has a track record of building strong consumer brands, leading high-performing teams and growing retail sales and market share.

Lisa most recently worked at Coles Group as Chief Marketing Officer for four years. In this role Lisa led the organisation’s marketing brand, digital and media strategies, sponsorships and events, customer insights and analytics, Coles 360 retail media, collectibles and continuity, loyalty, and in store promotion.

Prior to joining Coles, Lisa worked across several iconic brands and roles including CMO of Tourism Australia, GM roles at Westpac, Telstra, Visa International, David Jones and Carlton and United Breweries.

Lisa was recognised as the number one Chief Marketing Officer in Australia, winning both the 2018 Marketer of the Year award from the Australian Marketing Institute and was named the No. 1 CMO in the 2018 CMO50 Awards from CMO Magazine Australia. Lisa and her team also won Marketing team of the Year, Campaign of the Year, best PR and social campaigns of the year and ten Cannes Lions in 2018.

Most recently, for 5 consecutive years, Lisa has featured in Campaign Asia’s Asia-Pacific Power List 50 most influential and purposeful marketers. Lisa won the Marketer award at B&T's Best of the Best Awards 2021, recognising her as a trusted leader and customer-centric approach to marketing at Coles. Lisa was also recognised as Australia’s most prolific Marketer in 2021 according to the media monitoring service Stream.

Lisa is a fellow, patron and active member of the Australian Marketing Institute, is an AANA Board Director and an Australian Advertising Standards Board Director. Lisa was also a Director of Flybuys (Loyalty Pacific) for three years until September 2022.

Lisa also takes part in several mentoring programs, including The Marketing Academy, a Patron of the AMI Emerging Marketers Program, and currently holds an Adjunct Professor role at Deakin University.

Lisa holds a Graduate Diploma in Management with Honours in Marketing from the Macquarie School of Management (MGSM), a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from the University of Western Sydney, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Few leaders have the opportunity to find, create and build a team that inspires a generation.

Australian Sevens rugby coach Tim Walsh did exactly that. He took a group of little-known female athletes from diverse backgrounds, all with unique skills and moulded them into an Olympic champion team. His success leading the acclaimed Australian Women’s Sevens Rugby Team to the inaugural gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games is one of both inspiration and strategic genius. They were the most successful rugby team in Australia for 5 years, with Tim boasting a unprecedented winning percentage of 86% whilst at the helm. An expert in high-performance and situational leadership, Tim is dedicated to helping Australian business, communities and sporting leaders to unlock their potential.

Tim, a former Queensland and Australian representative player, is back at the helm of the Australian Women’s Sevens Team after leading the men’s team through the Covid period. Since taking back the reins at the start of 2022, Tim led the team to his third HSBC Sevens World Series title, a Commonwealth Games gold medal and the team was also crowned Rugby Sevens World Cup champions. This treble has not before been achieved, in either the men’s or women’s competition.

A life-long learner, he has an MBA, is an Australian Institute of Company Directors graduate, holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Griffith University, a Professional Diploma in Sports Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), a Diploma in English Law and enjoys conversing in Italian.

Hannah has held senior roles in sport for over 12 years. Having worked across the AFL, NRL and A-League she is an experienced management professional who has extensive knowledge and experience in delivering strategic growth initiatives across all commercial areas of sports business.

She is currently engaged as the Chief Commercial Officer at Sydney FC, and is responsible for commercial strategy and growth across all consumer, corporate and foundation initiatives, as well as overseeing the club's content, marketing and brand for future brand growth and fan engagement.

She is uniquely placed to provide expertise on finance, resourcing and operational requirements to sustain revenue growth and sustainability for sports organisations.

Nathalie Mann is an impact strategist and public health specialist with over 18 years’ experience working across industries. She has a deep understanding of the Australian, Thai, Vietnamese and French healthcare systems.

Nathalie has experience in the areas of policy, strategy and innovation with extensive experience in business operations and development. Nathalie sits on boards across industries with a particular interest in disability and paediatrics. 

John is a deeply experienced wealth management professional with over 32 years of experience leading financial services experience, including wholesale and retail advice and managed discretionary account (MDA) operations.

Previously John was Head of the Financial Planning Division of Centric Wealth group where he worked from 2007 to 2011. Before this, John was Chief Executive Officer of the Halliday Financial Group, a boutique advice and MDA funds management business, from 2005 until its sale to Centric Wealth in 2007.

John was also a tax partner of Ernst & Young chartered accountants, heading up its Australian Business providing services to the wealth management industry and many leading corporate executives.

John has had involvement with community sport throughout his life and in recent years developed an interest in enabling people living with disability to access sport.

After representing Australia on court as part of the Steelers for over a decade, and competing in 3 Paralympics and 3 World Championships, Bryce has embarked on a career in assistive technology as an owner of Melrose Wheelchairs Australia and co-founder of Rove Wheelchairs.

Bryce recognises the benefits of sport and its importance in the recovery process for those who sustain a spinal cord injury. Excited to be the newest member of the board of WRA, he is looking forward to adding a ‘players perspective’ to the direction of rugby in Australia, towards Brisbane 2032.

Recognising the importance of grass roots sport and the opportunity to move up to the elite level, Bryce is looking forward to further strengthening Australia’s standing in world rugby.

Completing a Commerce degree at Monash University in 2002, Bryce prefers a ‘hands on’ approach to tackling business. In his limited spare time he likes to travel and hit the slopes with his family skiing.

Chris was appointed as the inaugural CEO of Wheelchair Rugby Australia in 2022, having demonstrated his capability as a sports administrator with Disability Sports Australia. Prior to this, Chris was responsible for the delivery of a number of iconic Australian sporting events before first becoming involved with wheelchair rugby as the Marketing and Partnerships Manager for the GIO IWRF 2018 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship and then as the General Manager - Wheelchair Rugby.

Chris has high ambitions for wheelchair rugby in Australia, and is passionate about generating it’s growth and sustainability to ensure its long-term success both domestically and internationally.

Chris is currently the Regional General Manager - Oceania for World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR).

Kelsey is a motivated sports and events professional who across her career has demonstrated her capability across a number of business areas. Most recently, Kelsey was the General Manager - Sport at Disability Sports Australia and has seen first-hand the physical, emotional and social benefits of sport whilst raising awareness and profile of sport and active recreation, in particular for people with a disability.

As part of a small team, Kelsey has self-taught herself graphic design and how to write website code and media content for an array of sports. 

A sporting tragic herself, Kelsey loves to watch and immerse herself in as many sports as she can, and often finds herself studying the results, rules and statistics of many of her sports of choice. 

Ben is a recent graduate from the University of Sydney holding a Bachelors Degree in Commerce. As a sports lover, Ben enjoys playing or watching any sport and keeping healthy and fit. Having played high level soccer in the past, and been involved in coaching throughout his life, Ben is excited to now be working in the administrative side of sport and is excited to keep pushing wheelchair rugby forward to generate long term growth for the sport.

Jayme is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Human Resources and Sport Management—a combination that perfectly aligns with her passion for both people and sport. Outside of her studies, she is actively involved in playing AFL and netball, while also enjoying watching a wide variety of sports.

Jayme is excited to begin her journey with Wheelchair Rugby Australia, where she looks forward to making a meaningful impact and supporting the growth of the sport.